Participation in Social Group and Wellbeing Status of Rural Women in Oyo State

This study examined the contribution of social group participation on the wellbeing of rural women in Oyo State. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to obtain data from 170 rural women who are members of selected social groups. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study reveals that 79.0% were traders and 64.7% had secondary education. More than half (54.1%) had low level of social group participation. Benefits derived from social group participation were social control (= 1.65), access to credits and loans (=1.35), security of goods (=1.62) and invitation to social functions (=1.72). Financial constraint (=0.39), time (=0.64) and distance of the meeting venue (=0.45) were some of the factors that affect social group participation. Also, 50.6% of the respondents had low wellbeing status. There was a significant relationship between benefits derived (r = 0.225) from social group participation and wellbeing status of rural women. Based on these findings, this study has implications for the assessment of social groups in rural communities as they serve as strong platform for dissemination of social and agricultural information. This study therefore recommends that social groups should be well organised by engaging in activities that will improve the quality of life of rural women in all spheres so as to increase their involvement in group activities and rural development at large

Participation in Social Group and Wellbeing Status of Rural Women in Oyo State

This study examined the contribution of social group participation on the wellbeing of rural women in Oyo State. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to obtain data from 170 rural women who are members of selected social groups. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study reveals that 79.0% were traders and 64.7% had secondary education. More than half (54.1%) had low level of social group participation. Benefits derived from social group participation were social control (= 1.65), access to credits and loans (=1.35), security of goods (=1.62) and invitation to social functions (=1.72). Financial constraint (=0.39), time (=0.64) and distance of the meeting venue (=0.45) were some of the factors that affect social group participation. Also, 50.6% of the respondents had low wellbeing status. There was a significant relationship between benefits derived (r = 0.225) from social group participation and wellbeing status of rural women. Based on these findings, this study has implications for the assessment of social groups in rural communities as they serve as strong platform for dissemination of social and agricultural information. This study therefore recommends that social groups should be well organised by engaging in activities that will improve the quality of life of rural women in all spheres so as to increase their involvement in group activities and rural development at large

Implications of Empowerment Status in Agricultural Production Capabilities of Rural Women in Selected States of Nigeria

Rural women across the globe possess great potentials for increasing agricultural productivity and development of any nation but they are often not empowered. Empowerment of rural women has been found to significantly impact livelihood of households, communities and the nation at large. This study assessed the empowerment status of rural women in Nigeria using five main indicators; decision-making, economic, social, political and time-use empowerment. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to randomly select four States from the six agricultural zones in Nigeria; Oyo, Edo, Benue and Sokoto States. From each state, 10% of Local Government Areas (LGAs) were randomly selected making a total of nine LGAs. Two communities were randomly selected from each LGA to give 18 rural communities. Rural women were systematically sampled proportionate to size of each community to give 261 respondents. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics like PPMC and ANOVA.  The findings of the study revealed that 66.7% of the respondents were between the age range of 21-30 years, 43.7% had no formal education and 39.8% were crop farmers. Respondents that were traders engaged in small scale business and 11.5% had access to personal land for farming activities. Across the States, respondents had low decision-making ( =32.4), high economic ( = 83.1), high social ( = 7.6), low political ( = 11.7) and high time-use ( = 20.7) empowerment and a low empowerment status ( = 155.5) across States. ANOVA result shows that there was a significant difference (F=47.615) in the empowerment status of respondents across selected States with Oyo State having the highest (168.1±14.6) and Benue State having the lowest (138.4±19.4) empowerment status. The study concluded that respondents in Oyo state were more empowered than respondents in other three states in the five indicators used in this study. It was recommended that rural women should be empowered by organising seminars on self-help projects and giving them voice which will help them to contribute significantly to their family and also enable them have a sustainable farm community.   Keywords: Capabilities, empowerment status, enhancing, rural women, Oyo stat

Implications of Empowerment Status in Agricultural Production Capabilities of Rural Women in Selected States of Nigeria

Rural women across the globe possess great potentials for increasing agricultural productivity and development of any nation but they are often not empowered. Empowerment of rural women has been found to significantly impact livelihood of households, communities and the nation at large. This study assessed the empowerment status of rural women in Nigeria using five main indicators; decision-making, economic, social, political and time-use empowerment. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to randomly select four States from the six agricultural zones in Nigeria; Oyo, Edo, Benue and Sokoto States. From each state, 10% of Local Government Areas (LGAs) were randomly selected making a total of nine LGAs. Two communities were randomly selected from each LGA to give 18 rural communities. Rural women were systematically sampled proportionate to size of each community to give 261 respondents. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics like PPMC and ANOVA.  The findings of the study revealed that 66.7% of the respondents were between the age range of 21-30 years, 43.7% had no formal education and 39.8% were crop farmers. Respondents that were traders engaged in small scale business and 11.5% had access to personal land for farming activities. Across the States, respondents had low decision-making ( =32.4), high economic ( = 83.1), high social ( = 7.6), low political ( = 11.7) and high time-use ( = 20.7) empowerment and a low empowerment status ( = 155.5) across States. ANOVA result shows that there was a significant difference (F=47.615) in the empowerment status of respondents across selected States with Oyo State having the highest (168.1±14.6) and Benue State having the lowest (138.4±19.4) empowerment status. The study concluded that respondents in Oyo state were more empowered than respondents in other three states in the five indicators used in this study. It was recommended that rural women should be empowered by organising seminars on self-help projects and giving them voice which will help them to contribute significantly to their family and also enable them have a sustainable farm community.   Keywords: Capabilities, empowerment status, enhancing, rural women, Oyo stat

Participation in Social Group and Wellbeing Status of Rural Women in Oyo State

This study examined the contribution of social group participation on the wellbeing of rural women in Oyo State. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to obtain data from 170 rural women who are members of selected social groups. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study reveals that 79.0% were traders and 64.7% had secondary education. More than half (54.1%) had low level of social group participation. Benefits derived from social group participation were social control (= 1.65), access to credits and loans (=1.35), security of goods (=1.62) and invitation to social functions (=1.72). Financial constraint (=0.39), time (=0.64) and distance of the meeting venue (=0.45) were some of the factors that affect social group participation. Also, 50.6% of the respondents had low wellbeing status. There was a significant relationship between benefits derived (r = 0.225) from social group participation and wellbeing status of rural women. Based on these findings, this study has implications for the assessment of social groups in rural communities as they serve as strong platform for dissemination of social and agricultural information. This study therefore recommends that social groups should be well organised by engaging in activities that will improve the quality of life of rural women in all spheres so as to increase their involvement in group activities and rural development at large

Adoption of Improved Variety among Rice Farmers in the Kindia Region of Guinea

This study investigated the adoption characteristics of improved rice variety among rice farmers in the Kindia region of Guinea. A Multistage sampling procedure was used to select 180 rice farmers and a well-structured interview guide was used to elicit information from the respondents. Data were analysed using percentages, mean statistics, standard deviation and Chi-square.  The most adopted rice variety was CK 90 (86.6%).  Factors influencing the adoption of improved rice varieties were market channels (84.9%), membership of associations (91.7%) and contact with extension personnel (85.5%).  Most (97.2%) rice farmers knew about growing improved rice varieties. Most (66.1%) of the respondents had a favourable attitude towards growing improved rice variety but faced constraints like insufficient loan ( = 2.89), weed infestation ( = 2.37), storage losses ( = 2.19) and low extension activities ( = 2.11). The adoption characteristics of respondents were good (88.3%) with economic characteristics having the highest mean ( 2.71). Educational qualification was significantly related (?2 =1.149) to the adoption characteristics of improved variety. Efforts should be made by research institutes to ensure increased access of rice farmers to improved seed varieties with attractive characteristics which could aid its adoption and ensure food security in Guinea

Adoption of Improved Variety among Rice Farmers in the Kindia Region of Guinea

This study investigated the adoption characteristics of improved rice variety among rice farmers in the Kindia region of Guinea. A Multistage sampling procedure was used to select 180 rice farmers and a well-structured interview guide was used to elicit information from the respondents. Data were analysed using percentages, mean statistics, standard deviation and Chi-square.  The most adopted rice variety was CK 90 (86.6%).  Factors influencing the adoption of improved rice varieties were market channels (84.9%), membership of associations (91.7%) and contact with extension personnel (85.5%).  Most (97.2%) rice farmers knew about growing improved rice varieties. Most (66.1%) of the respondents had a favourable attitude towards growing improved rice variety but faced constraints like insufficient loan ( = 2.89), weed infestation ( = 2.37), storage losses ( = 2.19) and low extension activities ( = 2.11). The adoption characteristics of respondents were good (88.3%) with economic characteristics having the highest mean ( 2.71). Educational qualification was significantly related (?2 =1.149) to the adoption characteristics of improved variety. Efforts should be made by research institutes to ensure increased access of rice farmers to improved seed varieties with attractive characteristics which could aid its adoption and ensure food security in Guinea